Windows 7 New Backup Features

Windows 7 Backup and Restore

With Windows 7, Microsoft expands on the reliable backup and restore solutions for both data files and the entire computer that it introduced in Windows Vista, which can be used to copy your important files and folders to a safe location or create a system image that can be used later to restore a unreliable PC.

File Backup If you think of your Documents library as the centre of your data universe, and keep a series of folders and files there and in other libraries, then you'll understand the importance of backing up these files on a regular basis. Windows 7 supports both automatic and manual data backup, enabling you to choose which files to back up and when. You can then restore your backups at any time to recover previous versions of documents, or to replace a file you may have accidentally deleted.

System Image There's nothing worse than discovering that you need to reinstall Windows for some reason. You also have to ensure that you have drivers for all your hardware, reinstall the applications you use regularly, reload your data, and reconfigure all of the system, so that it's exactly the way you used to have it. Rather than go through this pain, you can use a Windows 7 feature called System Image Backup to create what is called a system image. This image, which is essentially a huge file, contains the entire contents of your PC as it existed when you backed up an image. You can simply restore the system image and get right back to work.

Window 7 also offers a way to access previous versions of data files or a previous state in time, or called a System Restore. These features are not part of Backup and Restore, but when you add it all up, what you have is the makings of a full-featured data recovery software suite like Ghost used for many years with Windows XP.

Backup Capabilities in Various Windows 7 Editions

All Windows 7 product editions get Backup and Restore with system image backup capabilities; the only exception is network-based backups: Only Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate support that capability.

One Tool to Rule Them All: Using Backup and Restore

Although various tools are available through the Windows 7 user interface. A single menu control panel menu option in System & Security, the Back UP & Restore menu option provides a front end.

Backing Up Documents, Pictures, and Other Data

If you want to create a data backup, you can use Windows Backup, which is available from Backup and Restore. To do so, launch Backup and Restore and click the Set up backup link. This launches Windows Backup's Setup up backup wizard

In the first step of the wizard, you must choose a location to store the backup. You can save a backup to an internal or external hard disk, a writeable CD or DVD, or a network share. (Network backup is only available in Windows 7 Ultimate, Enterprise & Professional. The amount of space you need, of course, depends on the amount of data you are backing up. Windows auto selects the local storage offering the most free space, but you can change this of course.

Microsoft does not allow you to back up to the disk or partition you are backing up, you cannot go from C: / to C: /

In the second step, you have two choices: Let Windows choose or Let me choose. If you choose the first option, Windows Backup will automatically backup data files saved in libraries, on the desktop, and in any folders founder in your user folder. Windows Backup will also create a system image if you choose this option, and then automatically make periodic backups on a schedule going forward.

If you choose Let me choose, Windows Backup will present a view of your file system. From this option, you can pick exactly what you want to backup. You can also optionally cause a system image to be made.

In the next step, review what you've chosen. Click the Change schedule link to change the default, which is to make a backup every Sunday night.

Click Save settings and run, as the backup begins, Backup and Restore displays its progress.

If you set up an automatic backup, Windows 7 will monitor your PC usage and prompt you to perform full backups over time.

A backup is in progress. This message will occur in the future; when Windows Backup runs in the background you can create multiple automatic backup schedules if you want. For example, you may want to back up different drives or file types at different times.
Managing Backups

Once you have created your first backup. First, Backup and Restore indicates that you've set a backup location and indicates when the last and next backups occur. You can also change the automatic backup settings and restore all of the files for the each user account.

When you click the Manage space, the Manage Windows Backup disk space window will indicate, information about the selected backup device, you can browse the file system of the backup location, view backups stored on that PC, and change settings configured with system image backups.

If you do click View backups, you can't actually get inside the backup folder you have made. From here, you can view the backups and delete them.

Go back to the previous window and click Browse. This will open Windows Explorer view, navigating the location of your backup. At this location, you will see Windows Backup icon and the name of your PC. If you try to double click this folder, a Windows Backup window will appear. Instead, right-click the folder and choose Open. Then, click Continue in the permission folder that appears. You'll will see a folder structure representing your various backups. A number of standard ZIP files. If you accidentally lose everything, at least these files will always be accessible.